I do apologize for the time lapse that has taken place since the last entry.
These times are about change. Change is a good thing. Change is a means of clearing the clutter. Getting rid of the old and in with the new to allow a breath of fresh air to an organism or organization. We are looking forward to this time and all it is to bring.
Life goes on and change is inevitable. We shall make it good!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Breathe...so my Ego can live...
When things begin to seem as though they are running away and getting out of control a good practice is to stop, breathe and exhale slowly. This act is an invaluable practice and simple in process.
If the opportunity is there just sit for a few minutes and listen to a bird sing, or perhaps enjoy the beauty and scent of a nearby flower. This act will revive and rejuvenate you in order to see your world and your situation in it. We tend to spend so much of our time with our Ego state in our modern society. We tend to forget that we and everything we know and see are all matter and energy.
There is nothing different about us and the flower, the bird, or the rock excepting the Ego that is creating the idea that there is a difference. When we are able to slow and allow ourselves to be we can catch a glimpse of our true selves again and our place in this cosmic chaos we have come to know and experience through along with our Ego as, Life. However, remember, that the bird is born, lives and dies. Just as we do. The flowers breath, bend and break just as we do. There is not much difference in it all once we can get past the Ego.
If the opportunity is there just sit for a few minutes and listen to a bird sing, or perhaps enjoy the beauty and scent of a nearby flower. This act will revive and rejuvenate you in order to see your world and your situation in it. We tend to spend so much of our time with our Ego state in our modern society. We tend to forget that we and everything we know and see are all matter and energy.
There is nothing different about us and the flower, the bird, or the rock excepting the Ego that is creating the idea that there is a difference. When we are able to slow and allow ourselves to be we can catch a glimpse of our true selves again and our place in this cosmic chaos we have come to know and experience through along with our Ego as, Life. However, remember, that the bird is born, lives and dies. Just as we do. The flowers breath, bend and break just as we do. There is not much difference in it all once we can get past the Ego.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Taking it for granted...
The waking hours this morning brought most thoughts to the poll results to find out who would be the candidates for our upcoming presidential election process. When the news came on it was not those stories dominating the news programs, but that of the devasating tornadoes that ripped through 5 southern states.
These storms came through with enormous amounts of power creating havoc where ever the winds went. We find that FEMA is on the way. A good sign that perhaps FEMA has learned some valuable lessons as to acting in more expedient manners. In Jackson, TN, at the Union University, it seems as though every single building has been destroyed or affected by the storm. Over 3000 students attend classes there.
In times like these I'm sure wall reflect a bit on a what if scenario. We never expect this to happen to us, but it can. It could be as simple as telling your significant other "have a nice day" in the morning as they head out to the car, get into traffic, and find it was their last morning.
What I mean by all of this is not to be a downer, but to recognize all that you have in your life. All of the things that make you happy. The little things. We must remember to take time and reflect daily so as not to lose track of what it is that our life is really all about.
Life is serious enough to be taking it so serious. Take the time to slow down, reflect, ponder, see what is...
These storms came through with enormous amounts of power creating havoc where ever the winds went. We find that FEMA is on the way. A good sign that perhaps FEMA has learned some valuable lessons as to acting in more expedient manners. In Jackson, TN, at the Union University, it seems as though every single building has been destroyed or affected by the storm. Over 3000 students attend classes there.
In times like these I'm sure wall reflect a bit on a what if scenario. We never expect this to happen to us, but it can. It could be as simple as telling your significant other "have a nice day" in the morning as they head out to the car, get into traffic, and find it was their last morning.
What I mean by all of this is not to be a downer, but to recognize all that you have in your life. All of the things that make you happy. The little things. We must remember to take time and reflect daily so as not to lose track of what it is that our life is really all about.
Life is serious enough to be taking it so serious. Take the time to slow down, reflect, ponder, see what is...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Check the tires...
If you already own a 1986 Dodge, non-hybrid, gas guzzler and cannot wait for or able to afford a hybrid, what to do with all of this CO2 mumbo jumbo?
How about giving your vehicle a proper tune up. This action alone can increase your gas mileage 4% and many times much more. Replacing your air filter with a new can boost the efficiency of the engine 10%. It is easy to keep the tires properly inflated and you should check this once a month. This action can improve mileage 3%. With this said, if you can boost your mileage from 20 to 24mpg your old clunker will put 200 fewer pounds of CO2 in the air each year.
A little can go a long way.
How about giving your vehicle a proper tune up. This action alone can increase your gas mileage 4% and many times much more. Replacing your air filter with a new can boost the efficiency of the engine 10%. It is easy to keep the tires properly inflated and you should check this once a month. This action can improve mileage 3%. With this said, if you can boost your mileage from 20 to 24mpg your old clunker will put 200 fewer pounds of CO2 in the air each year.
A little can go a long way.
Monday, February 4, 2008
I'll huff and puff and...
As an industry, the construction field, many times can get a bad wrap. The local and network news seem to always find a story or three to do in the springtime when people are gearing up for a remodel or home construction. Something with some contractor that has run off with the homeowner's money and left them high and dry. Some contractor who has bid much lower than anyone else for the project but cannot seem to be able to complete it due to lack of funds. There are also those in the field that also really shouldn't be there as they don't know what they are doing.
There is never stories from contractors discussing issues about clients. I'm not here to badger the customer, I am simply trying to raise issues so that in the future, as customers, you readers will get into a project with a bit more of an open mind that there are two sides to the story. Well, I always say three sides as there is the customer side, the builder side, and the truth.
A customer should hire the builder because they trust their work ethic, seen their work, talked to other previous clients, etc. A customer should check out the builder, the work, and talk with previous clients to get a well rounded view of the project they are to undertake.
Many customers pick a builder based solely on price. There is ALWAYS a lower price. When the customer goes for the lowest bid we periodically receive calls from panic stricken people who don't understand why their home has so many problems or the builder left and hasn't come back. Let's see, did you check out all of the references? Were there any? Did you go and see some of the work they had previously completed? By the way, this can happen with the most expensive builders as well. But this isn't what I wanted to talk about.
I find it interesting to have come across clients that wish to have a project built, but seem to be quite lax when it comes time to act on their portion of the project. That would be the payment process for work completed.
You see, when an invoice is submitted to the client, either for the client to pay, or for the bank to distribute funds, there are times when the email or invoice seems to get set aside, lost, forgotten, or the client had other more pressing things to do. In the mean time, there are a handful if not ten or more people waiting for this money to pay their people and suppliers, their insurance companies, their power bills, mortgages, keep clothes on their children, and more.
Then there does come a day in which the project is scheduled to come to an end. If it is through a financial institution, this day is scheduled due to finance timelines dictated by the client, contractor, and the bank. There are numbers attached or financial obligations to this date. Yet, when this date approaches those times of forgetting to get to the bank, or forgetting to forward the invoice to be submitted is... forgotten.
We understand that there are things we can do on our end such Lien a project, or walk off the project due to a difference of management styles, and many other legal maneuvers. This is generally not something that we in the construction business like to do. All of this takes time and money. Neither the customer or the builder has that time and it is also something that neither the customer or the builder are in the business of. That being law and suing eachother.
There is only one main thing a client needs to do on a construction project and that is make sure that the money flows. By the hiring of a professional in the building business, they should know what to do and how to do a job in the most efficient manner. With more and more customers watching these remodel shows on TV and such now, it seems that they feel they know what to do to build a house. This creates problems on and off the jobsite which will ultimately also cause delays.
I have a few tidbits for future use if you are going to be building a home, a commercial space, an addition, or...
1. My advice is that when you hire a professional to do work for you, you are doing so for a reason. You have seen their work, talked to their clients and/or associates and found them to be of integrity and good at their job. So, let them do their job.
2. A customer should talk only with the boss. There are numbers of people on the job during the process and most of the time they only know about their process. If they act as if they know more...they don't. Discussing issues regarding the project should be done with the person with whom you hired to do the work, and not any of the people he/she has subcontracted.
3. Make sure the money is there after each portion of the work is done.
That is it. All of the rest generally falls into place when these three things are followed. If you hire a person in between the builder and yourself make sure you keep that same chain of command throughout the project.
There is never stories from contractors discussing issues about clients. I'm not here to badger the customer, I am simply trying to raise issues so that in the future, as customers, you readers will get into a project with a bit more of an open mind that there are two sides to the story. Well, I always say three sides as there is the customer side, the builder side, and the truth.
A customer should hire the builder because they trust their work ethic, seen their work, talked to other previous clients, etc. A customer should check out the builder, the work, and talk with previous clients to get a well rounded view of the project they are to undertake.
Many customers pick a builder based solely on price. There is ALWAYS a lower price. When the customer goes for the lowest bid we periodically receive calls from panic stricken people who don't understand why their home has so many problems or the builder left and hasn't come back. Let's see, did you check out all of the references? Were there any? Did you go and see some of the work they had previously completed? By the way, this can happen with the most expensive builders as well. But this isn't what I wanted to talk about.
I find it interesting to have come across clients that wish to have a project built, but seem to be quite lax when it comes time to act on their portion of the project. That would be the payment process for work completed.
You see, when an invoice is submitted to the client, either for the client to pay, or for the bank to distribute funds, there are times when the email or invoice seems to get set aside, lost, forgotten, or the client had other more pressing things to do. In the mean time, there are a handful if not ten or more people waiting for this money to pay their people and suppliers, their insurance companies, their power bills, mortgages, keep clothes on their children, and more.
Then there does come a day in which the project is scheduled to come to an end. If it is through a financial institution, this day is scheduled due to finance timelines dictated by the client, contractor, and the bank. There are numbers attached or financial obligations to this date. Yet, when this date approaches those times of forgetting to get to the bank, or forgetting to forward the invoice to be submitted is... forgotten.
We understand that there are things we can do on our end such Lien a project, or walk off the project due to a difference of management styles, and many other legal maneuvers. This is generally not something that we in the construction business like to do. All of this takes time and money. Neither the customer or the builder has that time and it is also something that neither the customer or the builder are in the business of. That being law and suing eachother.
There is only one main thing a client needs to do on a construction project and that is make sure that the money flows. By the hiring of a professional in the building business, they should know what to do and how to do a job in the most efficient manner. With more and more customers watching these remodel shows on TV and such now, it seems that they feel they know what to do to build a house. This creates problems on and off the jobsite which will ultimately also cause delays.
I have a few tidbits for future use if you are going to be building a home, a commercial space, an addition, or...
1. My advice is that when you hire a professional to do work for you, you are doing so for a reason. You have seen their work, talked to their clients and/or associates and found them to be of integrity and good at their job. So, let them do their job.
2. A customer should talk only with the boss. There are numbers of people on the job during the process and most of the time they only know about their process. If they act as if they know more...they don't. Discussing issues regarding the project should be done with the person with whom you hired to do the work, and not any of the people he/she has subcontracted.
3. Make sure the money is there after each portion of the work is done.
That is it. All of the rest generally falls into place when these three things are followed. If you hire a person in between the builder and yourself make sure you keep that same chain of command throughout the project.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
